Proceeds of Crime

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Attorney-General what his Department’s strategy is on recovering criminal assets owed through outstanding confiscation orders; and what targets he has set for such recovery.

Edward Garnier: The Crown Prosecution Service and Serious Fraud Office have no formal targets for recovering criminal assets owed through outstanding confiscation orders. However, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) aims to deliver year on year improvements to its net realisations from confiscation orders. The SFO did have an internal target to recover £19 million of proceeds, not restricted to criminal assets owed from confiscation orders, in the financial year ending March 2011. This figure included civil recovery sums, costs orders and other reparations which can be demonstrated as being made as a direct result of SFO activity. The SFO’s work resulted in over £50 million of assets being recovered from the proceeds of crime in 2011-12.
	The enforcement of outstanding orders is generally by HM Courts and Tribunal Service who hold primary responsibility for this issue. However, both the CPS and SFO take the lead on enforcement when they can add value. Each case is dependent on its facts but relevant factors will be the value of the order, whether it is appropriate to appoint an enforcement receiver; and whether mutual legal assistance will be required to realise overseas assets. Where enforcement action has not led to the order being satisfied, consideration is given to requesting that the Court activate the default sentence.

Proceeds of Crime

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Attorney-General what the value was of criminal assets successfully recovered through confiscation orders issued by the Crown Prosecution Service in (a) Spain, (b) the Cayman Islands, (c) the British Virgin Islands, (d) Switzerland, (e) Mauritius, (f) Dubai, (g) India, (h) Pakistan, (i) Jersey, (j) Guernsey, (k) Cyprus and (l) Thailand in each of the last five years.

Edward Garnier: The information sought is not currently available. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) relies on the joint asset recovery database (JARD) to generate its statistics on asset recovery. The ability to record country specific information has only recently been added to the JARD and as such there is insufficient available data to provide an accurate answer.
	If defendants are unwilling to repatriate their assets voluntarily, the CPS will generally seek mutual legal assistance from the states in which the assets are located. In the absence of a relevant treaty, convention or asset sharing agreement, the requested state is entitled to retain any assets recovered and to provide a certificate of realisation, which enables the amount realised to be credited towards the remaining balance of a defendant’s confiscation order. If compensation for victims is included within the confiscation order, states will generally agree to repatriate the sums recovered net of their costs.

Procurement

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Attorney-General what the total (a) number and (b) value of contracts issued by (i) his Department and (ii) bodies for which he is responsible which were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Edward Garnier: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) records indicate that a total of four contracts were awarded during the financial year 2011-12. Of the four, three were to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with a total value of £127,425. There were a further 14 contracts awarded through Government Procurement Service, or other Government Department framework suppliers. Data on whether these suppliers are classified as SMEs is not held by the CPS.
	During 2011-12 the SFO awarded a total of 33 contracts to SMEs amounting to a total value of £52,058 using the joint CPS and SFO Electronic Presentation of Evidence framework agreement.
	In line with Government procurement policy, the SFO uses framework agreements whenever possible. No other contracts with a value over £10,000 were awarded to SMEs in that year. Other than for the Presentation of Evidence framework agreement, contracts below £10,000 are not recorded centrally or categorised by the size of the organisation to which they are awarded.
	Most of the external expenditure made by The Treasury Solicitor's Department, Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate is for legal services provided by barristers and solicitors. These are generally self-employed individuals or enterprises which may be classified as SMEs. However, Tsol does not centrally record details of the number and value of contracts issued to SMEs and could determine this only through a full manual examination of all of their records which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Recruitment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 21 May 2012, Official Report, column 489W, on recruitment, to what extent his Department and its non-departmental public bodies used name-blank CVs or the blind sift function on the Civil Service Resourcing e-recruitment system to recruit staff in the last year.

Owen Paterson: My Department does not, at present, use the Civil Service Resourcing e-recruitment system to recruit staff. Following the devolution of policing and justice functions to the NI Assembly in April 2010, the Northern Ireland Office adopted Ministry of Justice terms and conditions and we are currently examining the scope to access the e-recruitment system via MOJ.
	My Department has two non-departmental public bodies—the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland. Both public bodies are independent of Government and the hon. Gentleman may wish to write to the Commissions directly on these matters.

Aviation: Volcanoes

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department is providing support to British residents seeking compensation from airline carriers following disruption arising from Icelandic ash clouds.

Theresa Villiers: The CAA's Passenger Advice and Complaints team (PACT) and previously Air Transport Users Council (AUC) have been providing support to British residents with claims for reimbursement of expenses as a result of the volcanic ash disruption. Compensation itself is not due when flights are cancelled due to volcanic ash as this is a circumstance outside the control of the airline. AUC (at the time) actively took these complaints up with airlines and now PACT continues to do so. At the time of the disruption, AUC also actively contacted airlines to remind them of their obligations under Regulation EC 261/2004 and to ensure airline websites were updated to reflect the correct information about passengers rights.

Biofuels

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many varieties of biofuel are currently being grown in the UK.

Norman Baker: Biofuels are made from a number of different feedstocks including agricultural crops, wastes, residues, ligno-cellulosic and non-food cellulosic materials.
	The RTFO Unit in the Department for Transport administers the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) and produces statistics on the country of origin of feedstocks used for biofuels reported under the RTFO, where supplied in the UK. The latest annual verified data covering the period April 2010 to April 2011 is available at:
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/statistics/releases/verified-rtfo-biofuel-statistics-2010-11/year-3-verified-report.pdf
	The latest unverified data set covering April 2011 to December 2011 is available at:
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/statistics/releases/biofuels-statistics-apr-to-dec-2011/year-4-rtfo-report-apr-to-dec-2011.pdf
	The verified data show that currently sugar beet, wheat and oilseed rape are being grown in the UK for biofuel production. The latest unverified data also suggests corn grown in the UK is being used in biofuel supplied in the UK. However, the Government does not hold specific information about the uses which other countries make of crops exported from the UK. It is likely though that where such exports are used for biofuel production these involve the same types of crop as used in biofuel produced from UK crops which is supplied in the UK.
	It is also the case that biogas derived from maize could be used as a transport fuel. However, no biogas made from maize is currently reported under the RTFO as being supplied in the UK.

Driving under Influence

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to inform drivers as to the dangers of drinking and driving.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport is currently developing its drink drive communication plans for 2012-13 and future years. The plan will be subject to the controls on advertising and marketing spend governed by the Efficiency and Reform Group.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had with (a) law firms and (b) insurance companies on (i) uninsured driving, (ii) fraudulent claims and (iii) lowering insurance premiums for law-abiding drivers.

Michael Penning: There have been no recent discussions with law firms.
	Uninsured driving and fraud contribute to the cost of insurance. On 2 May 2012 the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening) hosted a cross Government summit with the insurance industry on measures to reduce the cost of premiums.
	I would also refer my hon. Friend to my response of 14 June 2012, Official Report, column 532W, on what the Government is doing to tackle uninsured driving, fraud and the cost of insurance.

Motorcycles

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she has taken as part of Ride to Work Day on Monday 18 June to recognise the contribution of motorcycles to reducing commuter congestion.

Michael Penning: The Government recognises and welcomes the contribution of motorcycles in reducing commuter congestion and initiatives such as Ride to Work. Although the Government is neutral on whether or not people should take up motorcycling we do, however, recognise that it is a valid transport choice and we have gone some way to create better and safer conditions for those who make that choice.
	Local authorities are encouraged to take actions to support motorcyclists such as, providing dedicated parking facilities and allowing them access to bus lanes. I also note with interest that Transport for London have since January 2012, given motorcyclists permanent access to bus lanes on the majority of the capital's red routes.

Railway Network

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost has been of enhancement works to the railway infrastructure undertaken in Rugby since 1998; and what assessment her Department has made of the cost-benefit ratio of these works.

Theresa Villiers: The station and track layout in use today cost £190 million. The strategy for modernisation of the West Coast Main Line was appraised by the Strategic Rail Authority at route wide level and is reported in ‘The Modernisation of the West Coast Main Line’, published by the National Audit Office in 2006. The Department has not conducted any subsequent appraisal of the Rugby project.

Railway Network

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will assess the effectiveness of enhancement works to the railway infrastructure undertaken in Rugby in relation to (a) higher speeds, (b) new station facilities, (c) renewed flyover, (d) increased passenger capacity on the West Coast Mainline, (e) increased freight capacity on the West Coast Mainline and (f) other enhancements since 1998.

Theresa Villiers: The Department has no plans to undertake a specific appraisal of the £190 million Rugby project. However, the works played a key role in unlocking capacity on the West Coast Main Line that has supported the very encouraging growth in rail demand seen in recent years. The strategy for modernisation of the West Coast Main Line was appraised by the Strategic Rail Authority at route wide level and is reported in ‘The Modernisation of the West Coast Main Line’, published by the National Audit Office in 2006.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many trade union representatives in (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies had (i) part-time; and (ii) full-time paid facility time arrangements in 2011-12;
	(2)  how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies in 2011-12; and at what cost to the public purse;
	(3)  how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies for trade union (i) duties and (ii) activities in 2011-12;
	(4)  if she will place in the Library copies of the facility time agreements between trade unions and (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies.

Norman Baker: The information requested is provided in the table below.
	
		
			 2011 -12 Number of full-time TUS reps Number of part-time TUS reps Number of days allocated facility time Total cost £ 
			 DFT(c) 3 15 916 179,247 
			 DVLA 8 45 3,018 231,121 
			 DSA 4 71 1,605 223,000 
			 GCDA 0 6 80 10,717 
			 HA 2 88 1,619 209,797 
			 MCA 0 53 952 102,000 
			 VCA 0 7 12 1,600 
			 VOSA 3 31 1,507 249,590 
			 NDPBs 0 0 0 0 
			 Totals 20 316 9,709 1,207,072 
		
	
	The Department's and the Agencies' Staff Handbooks set out provisions for agreed facility time for officially recognised trade unions. The Department has no plans to place the Staff Handbooks in the Library of the House.
	Regarding Non-departmental public bodies, there is no facility time agreement in place.

Aircraft Carriers

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much his Department has spent on commencement of the delivery of the carrier programme (a) in total and (b) in each category of cost;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on the aircraft carrier programme (a) in total and (b) in each category of cost since May 2010.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence has spent £2,450 million to the end of April 2012 on the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier programme. Of this, £111 million was for Assessment Phase work, £175 million for Demonstration Phase and £2164 million on the Manufacturing Phase. Over the period May 2010 to end April 2012, we spent £1,262 million, all of which was Manufacturing Phase expenditure. During this period, we also committed up to £39 million on our investigations into conversion, which is accounted for separately.

Armed Forces: Discrimination

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he has put in place to prevent discrimination against the armed forces in the provision of goods and services.

Andrew Robathan: The Armed Forces Covenant sets out the principles that those who serve in the armed forces, whether regular or reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services, and that special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most, such as the injured and the bereaved.
	The interim armed forces covenant annual report was published at the end of 2011, and was written in conjunction with our key partner charities, the Families Federations, other Government Departments and the devolved Administrations, all of whom are members of the Covenant Reference Group. It highlighted progress across a range of different areas and identified work still to be done.
	A recent measure to combat discrimination has seen the announcement by the Ministry of Defence and Royal Mail of a technical solution for those serving overseas. In addition to improving access to a range of online services including buying goods online and making it easier to access Government online services, this will assist credit reference agencies with their assessments and armed forces personnel serving overseas with maintaining a UK credit history recognised by financial service providers and in turn improve access to financial products.
	We will continue to raise awareness of the role of the armed forces in society, which will also help to reduce discrimination.

Armed Forces: Training

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what training facilities will close after the implementation of the Defence Technical Training Change Programme; when those facilities will close; and if he will estimate the savings which will accrue from each site closure;
	(2)  when the (a) Army's School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, (b) School of Electronic and Aeronautical Engineering at Arborfield, (c) Marine Engineering School at HMS Sultan and (d) Air Engineering School at RAF Cottesmore will move to RAF Lyneham.

Andrew Robathan: On current planning Tranche 1 of the Defence Technical Training Change Programme (DTTCP) will result in moves of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) training currently conducted at Arborfield and Bordon to Lyneham in Wiltshire, to free these sites up for disposal from 2015. The disposal receipts from the sale of these sites is subject to commercial pressures and sensitivities, current market forces and further detailed work and is not available at present.
	Subsequent tranches of the DTTCP plan to move the remaining Defence Technical Training (DTT) schools, including the Royal Naval School of Marine Engineering at HMS Sultan and the Air Engineering School at RAF Cosford, to Lyneham. The relocation of DTT schools would not of itself result in the closure of these sites. The subsequent tranches of the DTTCP will be subject to further detailed work and therefore the proposed dates of their respective relocations to Lyneham are not yet available.

Military Aircraft: Training

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on the provision of fast jet training for each training exercise undertaken with (a) Hawker Hunter Aviation, (b) Airborne Tactical Advantage Company and (c) Apache Aviation in each of the last five years.

Andrew Robathan: No funding has been expended with Hawker Hunter Aviation, Airborne Tactical Advantage Company or Apache Aviation on Fast Jet Training in the last five years.

Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training Ministry of Defence police officers deployed to staff passport desks at British airports have received.

Andrew Robathan: To cover operation of the EU desks, Border Force Learning and Development (BF L&D) provides a three-day classroom module with pre-course reading and tests during the three days. This is followed up by a period of mentoring prior to that person being deployed. This is known as "Module 1".
	To cover operation of the non-EU desks, trainees must have completed Module 1. BF L&D then provides a four-day classroom module (Module 2) with pre-course reading, some consolidation of the module 1 event and tests within the four days to assess capability and knowledge retention with a required pass mark which delegates must achieve if they are to be deployed.

Recruitment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 21 May 2012, Official Report, column 489W, on recruitment, to what extent his Department and its non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies used name-blank CVs or the blind sift function on the Civil Service Resourcing e-recruitment system to recruit staff in the last year.

Andrew Robathan: Currently no recruitment action has been undertaken in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) or its trading funds using named-blank CVs or the blind sift function on the Civil Service Resourcing e-recruitment system. The blind sift function is due to go live imminently; Departments can select whether to set this as a default or to use it for specific campaigns if desired. The MOD has opted not to use the blind sift function by default, but recruiters will be able to select this option for specific campaigns, and the MOD may decide in the future to select this as the default option. senior civil servant recruitment is not currently undertaken using the civil service e-recruitment system and the blind sift application process has not been used.
	Appointments to the small number of MOD non-departmental public bodies are made off-line and not through Civil Service Jobs.

USA: Military Alliances

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which joint working groups, joint working group subgroups and specialised working groups currently operate under the auspices of the 1958 US-UK Mutual Defense Agreement; and how many meetings of each such working group have taken place in each year since 2009.

Peter Luff: There are currently 33 groups operating under the US-UK 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement. The following list provides a breakdown of meetings for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 in respect of Joint Working Group (JOWOG), Sub-Joint Working Groups and specialized working groups consisting of Exchange of Information by Visit Report (EIVR), Enhanced Collaboration (EC), Trident Warhead Program Group (TWPG) and United States Air Force (USAF) Channel.
	
		
			  2009 2010 2011 
			 Meeting location: US UK US UK US UK 
			 JOWOG       
			 JOWOG 6 19 2 15 4 7 3 
			 JOWOG 9 6 1 4 2 3 3 
			 JOWOG 22 21 7 13 3 2 4 
			 JOWOG 23 10 7 10 3 0 5 
			 JOWOG 28 7 4 8 3 0 5 
			 JOWOG 29 29 10 24 19 6 16 
			 JOWOG 30 3 1 6 2 2 3 
			 JOWOG 31 23 6 12 8 4 3 
			 JOWOG 32 (see sub-JOWOG for breakdown) 26 11 30 19 19 15 
			 JOWOG 34 1 2 1 0 1 2 
			 JOWOG 36 3 0 0 0 5 1 
			 JOWOG 37 24 5 20 4 24 9 
			 JOWOG 39 15 8 7 10 13 6 
			 JOWOG 41 3 1 2 1 1 0 
			 JOWOG 42 2 3 0 4 1 3 
			 JOWOG 43 0 1 3 2 3 3 
			 JOWOG 44 2 2 3 1 1 1 
			        
			 Sub-JOWOG       
			 32 Mat 2 0 11 1 5 3 
			 32 M 1 0 2 0 1 0 
			 32 P 4 2 2 3 3 5 
		
	
	
		
			 32 HDT 13 5 12 8 8 3 
			 32 S 6 4 3 7 2 4 
			        
			 Specialist working groups       
			 EC1 4 0 4 1 0 1 
			 EC2 13 6 20 8 3 5 
			 EC3 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 EC4 2 0 0 0 0 4 
			 EC5 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 EC6 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 EC7 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 EC8 1 0 1 0 0 0 
			 EC9 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 EC10 1 0 2 1 0 0 
			 EC11 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 EC12 2 0 6 3 1 3 
			 EIVR 0 35 16 43 27 36 22 
			 EIVR 48 0 0 3 0 0 1 
			 EIVR 49 1 4 3 3 1 3 
			 EIVR 50 1 0 0 0 1 0 
			 EIVR 52 1 2 3 4 0 0 
			 EIVR 58 2 0 4 0 5 0 
			 EIVR 57 0 2 0 5 0 0 
			 EIVR 62 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 EIVR 63 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 EIVR X 4 2 3 8 6 6 
			 TWPG 13 5 6 8 12 3 
			 USAF Channel 0 0 0 0 2 11

English Baccalaureate

Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of changes in the number of pupils taking science, language, history and geography courses following the introduction of the English Baccalaureate.

Nick Gibb: Independent research commissioned by the Department for Education published in August 2011 suggests that the English Baccalaureate is having an immediate impact returning take up of core subjects to the heights of 10 to 15 years ago: it indicates increases of 8 percentage points in pupils taking history, 7 percentage points in geography, 9 percentage points in languages and a 12 percentage point increase of those taking triple science.

British Sky Broadcasting: News Corporation

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether any guidance or instructions were issued on contact between his Department and opponents of the News Corporation bid for BSkyB; and if he will place any such guidance or instructions in the Library.

Jeremy Hunt: All of the Department’s legal and policy advice on all aspects of handling News Corporation’s bid for the remaining shares in BSkyB, was included in the evidence submitted to the Leveson inquiry which I have also placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Broadband

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what progress has been made on the delivery of superfast broadband to (a) Northamptonshire and (b) England.

Edward Vaizey: I have now approved 37 local project plans and nine projects are in procurement. A number of these are now almost ready to begin delivery, including Northamptonshire. The other projects are preparing for procurement with support from BDUK, which is also finalising details for the broadband delivery framework contract.
	The first 10 super-connected cities are developing detailed proposals for their projects and we recently published guidance for the 27 further cities that will be eligible to bid for the second round of funding from the Urban Broadband Fund.

Digital Technology

Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what progress he has made on increasing levels of digital inclusion of those on low incomes;
	(2)  what progress has been made on increasing levels of digital inclusion.

Francis Maude: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The Government is committed to making its services Digital by Default and increasing levels of digital inclusion. Government Digital Service in the Cabinet Office is working to develop departmental strategies for delivering online services, a key tenet of this will focus on provision of assisted digital services and increasing levels of digital inclusion, which according to ONS data has significantly improved over the last year.
	Go ON UK created by Martha Lane Fox in her role as Government's Digital Champion, is a new partnership with public, private and third sector organisations to help get more people online. A number of initiatives have been launched to assist those with low incomes such as offering deals to provide refurbished computers and low cost broadband access.

Football

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps the Government is taking to fulfil the coalition agreement to support the co-operative ownership of football clubs by supporters; and what account has been taken of the FA’s response to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s report on football governance in that work.

Hugh Robertson: Among the positive proposals, the football authorities have outlined in their response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee inquiry on football governance is the requirement for clubs to engage with supporters on matters that most concern them. This will be done through the new licensing system and supporter liaison officers among others.
	The new licensing system in particular promises to improve the way that clubs manage their financial affairs better going forward which we believe will encourage more supporter groups to want to invest in the ownership of their local teams.
	The Department welcomes this move, and wants to see football implement this as soon as possible for the good of the game.
	The Department supported the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s report on football governance, and has asked the committee to review the football authorities’ response before deciding what further action to take.

Local Press

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans he has to support local newspapers.

Edward Vaizey: The Government recognises the fundamental importance of local media. That is why last year the Department removed local cross media ownership rules. This has made it easier for local media businesses to offer quality local services which also make commercial sense.
	The Leveson inquiry will of course be making recommendations as part of its remit that will impact this sector.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects a regulatory impact assessment to be published following the publication of the Government's White Paper entitled Putting Victims First: More Effective Responses to Anti-Social Behaviour.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 14 June 2012
	We will publish our assessment of the impact of our reforms to improve the response to antisocial behaviour alongside the draft legislation.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Middlesbrough

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of antisocial behaviour orders issued to residents of Middlesbrough local authority.

James Brokenshire: Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) are issued by courts. Data relating to ASBOs are not held below the level of a Criminal Justice System (CJS) area and any order issued by a court in one CJS area may relate to a prohibition in a neighbouring area.
	The latest data available for 2010 shows that there were 26 ASBOs issued by all courts in the Cleveland CJS area which contains Middlesbrough local authority.

Immigration: Gurkhas

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to her contribution of 11 June 2012, Official Report, column 59, on family migration, whether she plans to make any changes to the rules applying to (a) Gurkha soldiers who have retired and their families and (b) serving Gurkha soldiers; and when she expects to announce the changes proposed to the Part 7 rules.

Damian Green: The Government recognises the special contribution of the armed forces as set out in the as Armed Forces Covenant.
	Gurkhas who retired after July 1997, and Commonwealth personnel who have retired from the armed forces, will be able to apply for settlement with their spouses, partners and dependent children under the armed forces rules in place before 9 July this year. However the armed forces rules for all serving personnel and their dependents will be reviewed over the coming months to set out how and to what extent the new rules on family migration apply to them. The intention is to bring forward changes to the Immigration Rules by April next year.
	Gurkhas who retired before 1 July 1997 will continue to be able to apply for settlement under the current separate arrangements outside of the Immigration Rules.

Alternatives to Prison

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent research his Department has undertaken on the use of intensive punitive community disposal for offenders who warrant a significant level of punishment but are better dealt with in the community.

Crispin Blunt: Sentences' consultation proposes to develop an intensive community punishment order (ICPO) for offenders who deserve a significant level of punishment, but who are better dealt with in the community to maintain ties with work and family. As set out in the impact assessment, the consultation asks respondents for their views on how the ICPO could work and the MOJ is currently considering the evidence. An assessment will be published when the final proposal is developed.
	The impact assessment that MOJ published alongside the consultation can be found on the following webpage:
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/effective-community-services-1

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Sentencing

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been sent to prison for breach of an anti-social behaviour injunction in the latest period for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: Data collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice and held on the Court Proceedings Database do not permit proceedings for contempt of court arising from breach of an antisocial behaviour injunction to be separately identified from proceedings for contempt of court arising from other circumstances.

Charities

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to discuss with ministerial colleagues the extension of Freedom of Information legislation to charities that undertake duties assigned by a public authority.

Kenneth Clarke: The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is subject to post-legislative scrutiny by the Justice Select Committee to see how it is working in practice. The Government's "Open Data Consultation'' also sought views on the types of organisations to which an open data policy would apply. A summary of the responses has been published at:
	www.data.gov.uk
	The Government will consider the recommendations of the Justice Committee, including any in relation to the scope of the FOIA, along with the evidence of the open data consultation, before bringing forward any proposals for future policy on Freedom of Information.

Community Orders

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to encourage compliance of offenders who are placed on intensive community punishment orders;
	(2)  what guidance he plans to provide to offender managers in the event that they are given powers to impose financial penalties on persons who breach intensive community punishment orders on avoiding any conflict of interest and ensuring consistency of application;
	(3)  what steps he plans to take to ensure that fines handed down by the courts are proportionate and related to the disposable income of the offender.

Crispin Blunt: The Government's consultation paper ''Punishment and Reform: Effective Community Sentences" sets out proposals to reform community sentences so that they are tough and credible punishments which are effective in tackling reoffending. The consultation includes proposals to:
	create a new intensive community punishment order;
	create a fixed penalty-type scheme for dealing with compliance with community orders;
	support the effective and proportionate use of fines.
	The consultation closes on 22 June 2012. The Government will set out its intentions on these and other proposals in the consultation in due course after that.

Community Orders

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the average cost of supervising a person on an intensive community order.

Crispin Blunt: In respect of the average cost of supervising a person in an intensive community order, I refer the hon. Member to my answer to her on 14 June 2012, Official Report, column 609W.
	‘The 'Punishment and Reform: Effective Community Sentences’ consultation proposes to develop an intensive community punishment order for offenders who deserve a significant level of punishment, but who are better dealt with in the community to maintain ties with work and family. As set out in the impact assessment, the consultation asks respondents for their views on how ICPO could work and MOJ will assess the impacts when the final proposal is developed.
	The impact assessment that MOJ published alongside the consultation can be found on the following webpage:
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/effective-community-services-1

Driving Offences: Insurance

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will estimate the proportion of fraudulent insurance claimants who were convicted of making fraudulent insurance claims in (a) 1997, (b) 2002 and (c) 2011.

Crispin Blunt: A person who makes a fraudulent insurance claim is likely to be guilty of fraud by false representation under section 1 of the Fraud Act 2006. Fraud by false representation can be committed in a variety of ways and data collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice does not include all the details of each offence. It is therefore not possible to identify the number of convictions under section 1 which specifically relate to making fraudulent insurance claims.

Legal Aid Scheme

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 15 May 2012, Official Report, column 86W, on the legal aid scheme, whether additional consideration has been given to engaging in consultation on retention of first tier tribunals on points of law.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Government is still working on the details relating to legal aid for welfare benefits First-tier Tribunal cases involving points of law. We currently have no plans to consult.

Mediation

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of family cases have attended Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings in the last 12 months; and what proportion of such cases involved (a) divorcing couples, (b) drug or alcohol misuse, (c) domestic violence and (d) mental health issues.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice does not collect data on the number of family cases preceded by attendance at a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM). However, a pre-application protocol introduced in April 2011 stipulates that, with limited exceptions, prospective parties to private law- proceedings relating to children, or proceedings for a financial remedy, should first attend a MIAM. The court may also adjourn proceedings at any stage to allow mediation to be attempted, and that would usually include as a first step attendance at a MIAM.
	The Legal Services Commission collects information about the number of MIAMs attended where one or both clients are in receipt of public funding. In the 12 months from April 2011 publicly funded couples attended 31,181 MIAMs—an 18% increase on the previous 12 months. It is not possible to identify what proportion this represents of all family cases. In the same period 19,668 clients who attended publicly funded mediation reached a full or partial agreement on their family dispute.
	Data for publicly funded mediation does not include any information on whether clients are divorcing or separating or whether domestic violence, drug or alcohol abuse or mental health issues were present. However, clients are not expected to attend a MIAM where there is an allegation of domestic violence against another party and this has resulted in a police investigation or the issuing of civil proceedings for the protection of any party within the last 12 months.
	It is also the case that clients are not expected to attend a MIAM if there is a risk to the life, liberty or physical safety of the applicant or his or her family or his or her home; or any delay caused by attending a MIAM would cause a risk of significant harm to a child, a significant risk of a miscarriage of justice, unreasonable hardship to the applicant or irretrievable problems in dealing with the dispute.

Prisons: Finance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department’s expenditure was in prisons in each of the last five years; and how much he expects to spend in each year to 2015.

Crispin Blunt: The following table shows the total direct and overall resource outturn prison expenditure for the last five financial years from 2007-08 to 2011-12. The outturn expenditure figures are published as an addendum to the NOMS annual accounts.
	
		
			 Prison expenditure 
			 £ million 
			   Direct establishment Overall 
			 Outturn 2007-08 2,251 3,160 
			  2008-09 2,283 3,375 
			  2009-10 2,288 3,186 
			  2010-11 2,286 3,150 
			  2011-12 (1)2,213 (2)— 
			 (1) Provisional subject to audit. (2) Not yet available. 
		
	
	The overall expenditure is based on the direct establishment expenditure (i.e. expenditure incurred and managed at local level) plus relevant expenditure met by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and managed at regional or national level. The following expenditure is excluded: impairment of fixed assets; immigration removal centres and; expenditure incurred on setting up new prisons. Expenditure that is recharged to the Youth Justice Board is also included.
	The figures may not be directly comparable over time due to changes in scope and accounting treatment. Figures for 2009-10 have been restated to exclude cost of capital, which was included in the 2009-10 accounts (and for earlier years) but is no longer included in expenditure from 2010-11 onwards.
	Financial year 2012-13
	The prison establishments’ resource budget allocation for private and public prisons in England and Wales at the start of April 2012 was £2,185 million. This is the nearest equivalent to the direct establishment expenditure figures given above, but they are not directly comparable; for example, items such as building maintenance and learning skills services are not fully included during the initial budget allocation process.
	Allocated budgets may be subject to amendment during the financial year.
	Financial year 2013-14 and 2014-15
	It is not possible to provide figures for 2013-14 and 2014-15 at this time as NOMS has not set budgets for the remaining years of the comprehensive spending review period. Budgets for financial year 2013-14 onwards will be set as part of NOMS regular annual budget allocation process. Allocations will be made on the basis of need and according to organisational priorities.

Prisons: Food

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent per prisoner on food in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not hold information on the cost of each prisoner meal and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	Public sector prisons do not set an individual meal allowance for prisoners. The responsibility for determining prisoner food budgets lies with the governor who will set aside a realistic sum that will meet the dietary needs of their prisoner population. Meal requirements vary between establishments and are based on the prisoner population, local regimes and seasonal availability. The average daily cost(1) for food (including beverages) per prisoner per day in public sector prisons was £2.20 for the financial year ending 2010.
	(1) The data has been calculated using available management information from the NOMS finance systems and assumes that all transactions have been allocated and recorded against the correct accounting codes.
	It is however possible to estimate what the average daily cost per prisoner meal would be.
	Prisons provide breakfast, lunch and dinner together with all condiments and beverages. The estimated average food cost per meal per prisoner is based on the understanding that breakfast, lunch and dinner account for approximately 20%, 40% and 40% of the daily food expenditure. But these percentages will vary from one establishment to another and are for illustrative purposes only. See Table 1 following which represents the latest available data.
	
		
			 Table 1 
			   Per prisoner per meal (for illustration only)  
			 Year ending 31 March Estimated total (1)  (£ million) Breakfast (£) Lunch (£) Dinner (£) Estimated average daily food expenditure per prisoner (1)  (£) 
			 2010 60 0.44 0.88 0.88 2.20 
			 2009 62 0.46 0.92 0.92 2.31 
			 2008 56 0.42 0.85 0.85 2.12 
			 2007 51 0.39 0.79 0.79 1.97 
			 2006 49 0.39 0.77 0.77 1.93 
			 (1) The data has been calculated using available management information from the NOMS finance systems and assumes that all transactions have been allocated and recorded against the correct accounting codes.

Recruitment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 21 May 2012, Official Report, column 489W, on recruitment, to what extent his Department and its non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies used name-blank CVs or the blind sift function on the Civil Service Resourcing e-recruitment system to recruit staff in the last year.

Kenneth Clarke: The Ministry of Justice and its non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies has not adopted the full Civil Service Resourcing e-recruitment system. Although all vacancies are advertised on this system, the actual candidate applications are still processed through the Ministry's own e-recruitment system. Within the Ministry some executive agencies choose to “blind” sift applications while the remainder including the MOJ and non-departmental public bodies retain the details of the candidates.

Seized Articles

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what proportion of offenders on the probation caseload possess assets that could be seized under the proposals contained in his Department's document, Punishment and Reform: Effective Community Sentences;
	(2)  which assets he expects to be seized as part of his proposed stand-alone punishment order.

Crispin Blunt: Our consultation paper "Punishment and Reform: Effective Community Sentences" seeks views on the potential for a new standalone power for courts to confiscate assets as a punishment. The consultation closes on 22 June 2012. The Government will in due course set out its intentions on this proposal, including the offenders to which it might apply and which assets might be seized, as part of its response to the consultation.

Sentencing

Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Indeterminate Sentence for Public Protection (IPP) prisoners there are in England; how many IPP prisoners are waiting to be admitted onto courses that are mandatory for them to complete before their release can be considered by the parole board; and how many places are available on those courses.

Crispin Blunt: As at 31 March 2012, there were 6,017 prisoners serving an indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP).
	It is not mandatory that prisoners serving an IPP or any other indeterminate sentence complete specific courses or programmes before they can be considered suitable for release by the independent Parole Board.
	The Parole Board's assessment of a prisoner's suitability for release is based upon areas of risk, rather than whether or not specific offending behaviour programmes (OBP) have been completed. A prisoner may address his or her risk in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, participation in group-based intervention programmes. Certain offenders will not actually be suitable for such programmes. In the event that a place on a given OBP, where specified in a prisoners sentence plan, is not immediately available in the time leading up to the prisoner's next parole review, due to a lack of places or difficulties in arranging a transfer to an appropriate establishment, the Parole Board will look for other indicators that a prisoner's risks have been reduced. Such indicators might include addressing the area of risk by completing an alternative OBP, engaging with one to one work, education and training, non accredited courses, work, specialist support and resettlement or demonstrating a sustained period of stable behaviour.
	It should be remembered that it is the prisoners responsibility to demonstrate to the Parole Board that it is no longer necessary, on the grounds of public protection, for him to be detained in custody, once he has completed his tariff (that is, the minimum period of custody set by the Court for the purposes of punishment and deterrence).

Housing: Construction

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings officials from his Department have had with banks, building societies and mortgage lenders on self-build policy since May 2010; and if he will place in the Library a copy of all the (a) meetings, (b) correspondence and (c) minutes of such meetings.

Grant Shapps: DCLG officials have worked closely with umbrella organisations like the Building Societies Association in developing the “Self Build Action Plan to promote the growth of self build housing” (National Self Build Association, July 2011) and the framework for the £30 million investment fund to help group projects which will be announced shortly. In preparing the action plan officials participated in an industry-led finance sub-group, chaired by the Building Societies Association, which looked in detail at the finance challenges facing self builders. Barclays Bank, Nationwide and Hanley Building Society were represented on the sub-group.
	Details of the work of this sub-group are set out in the Self Build Action Plan. Officials have held no other meetings with banks, building societies and mortgage lenders with regard to self-build policy.
	The Government do not normally disclose specific information about internal meetings which inform the development of Government Policy as it undermines the 'private space' needed to allow officials to have free and frank discussions with external partners, and advise Ministers on policy options. Without such discussions the objective consideration of all policy options and their implications would be inhibited.

Housing: Older People

Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to monitor delivery of the New Deal for Older Person's Housing;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on specialist housing for older people.

Grant Shapps: Ministers within the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet colleagues from other Departments to discuss a range of matters.
	The Department monitors delivery of the FirstStop information and advice service through quarterly grant reporting objectives agreed with Elderly Accommodation Counsel, the charity responsible for the service.
	The Department also monitors the delivery of support services to home improvement agencies, handyperson services and their local authority commissioners through quarterly contract reporting against an agreed work plan with Foundations, the national body for these services.

Local Government: Audit

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the total cost to the public purse of local authorities being required to run a procurement process for their audit services every five years.

Bob Neill: My Department estimates that the total cost to local bodies of running a procurement process for their audit services will be approximately £2.22 million per year. This includes an estimate of the cost of running an EU compliant procurement process and the cost of managing the contracts. It assumes a collaborative approach, with some local bodies joining up to procure their audit services.
	The evidence used in calculating the £2.22 million figure is taken from the Local Government Association’s report, “The impact of EU procurement legislation on councils”, and the National Audit Office’s report, “Central Government’s management of service contracts”. Full details of this calculation and the savings to local bodies are contained in the consultation-stage impact assessment that will be published alongside the draft Local Audit Bill. Overall, the impact assessment estimates that the programme to disband the Audit Commission and introduce a new local audit framework will see savings of £650 million over the next five years, the majority of which will be realised by local bodies.

Local Government: Procurement

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library any advice he has received from departmental statisticians relating to research by Opera Solutions on savings in council procurement.

Bob Neill: I assume the right hon. Member is referring to a DCLG press release of 16 June 2011 on savings in council procurement, which mentioned the organisation Opera Solutions. This press release was cleared by Ministers and civil servants in line with standard procedures.
	I would add that Local Government Association’s own findings from its Local Productivity Programme, which has assessed the experience of councils of making savings through collaborative procurement, has identified savings of up to 20% in some service areas. This is evidenced in the procurement, capital and shared assets productivity workstream’s document, entitled “Response to Spending Review, Quick Wins Strategy, October 2010”.
	Moreover, the Department has been working with capital and asset pathfinder areas to manage their capital spend and assets more effectively through a bottom up commissioning approach across the public sector within an area. The projects have shown that adopting a cross-public sector approach can lead to substantial savings of up to 20%.
	I also refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 23 February 2012, Official Report, column 893W, on the scope of major savings in the area of local authority procurement.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been purchased using loans provided through the Government's NewBuy Guarantee Scheme.

Grant Shapps: Quality assured data on the total number of completions under the industry-led NewBuy Guarantee scheme are not yet available to Government.
	The Government expects to make this information available from September 2012.
	The purchase of a newly built home is normally completed up to six months after reservation; as of 12 June, the NewBuy Guarantee scheme was only three months old.

Rented Housing: Housing Benefit

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to encourage landlords to accept housing benefit as payment; and what steps he is taking to increase the availability of good quality houses of multiple occupation.

Grant Shapps: Figures drawn from the Family Resources Survey 2008-09 and the March 2011 Single Housing Benefit Extract data generate an estimate that 32% of private sector renters are in receipt of housing benefit. This suggests that housing benefit claimants continue to be able to access privately rented housing. At present, under the local housing allowance arrangements, housing benefit is paid to claimants in the majority of cases. For some claimants who are likely to run into financial difficulties or have built up significant arrears, payment is made to the landlord. The Government plans to broadly replicate these provisions within universal credit. We have also introduced a new temporary safeguard to allow local authorities to pay housing benefit direct to the landlord where it helps a claimant to secure or retain a tenancy at a reduced rent.
	Local authorities now have greater flexibility to plan for and manage houses in multiple occupation in their local area. We amended the planning rules for these in October 2010 to remove the blanket requirement for planning permission for all material changes of use from family houses to small houses of multiple occupation introduced by the previous administration.
	The licensing provisions in the Housing Act 2004 also ensure that there are adequate amenities and safety requirements in properties where there are several households sharing basic facilities. In addition to the mandatory licensing of certain high risk houses of multiple occupation, local authorities have the discretion to extend licensing to smaller types without having to first seek approval from this department. I believe it is right for these local decisions to be made by those who are directly accountable to local communities.

Social Rented Housing

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many home swaps have taken place under the HomeSwap Direct Scheme in (a) Birmingham, Hall Green constituency and (b) England since the scheme’s inception.

Grant Shapps: I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Annette Brooke) on 23 May 2012, Official Report, column 683W, and to the response I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Ms Stuart) on 12 June 2012, Official Report, column 410W.

Wind Power: Planning Permission

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what training has been provided for the Planning Inspectorate to prepare it adequately to evaluate the arguments and evidence presented at public inquiries relating to wind farms.

Bob Neill: The Planning Inspectorate ran internal training courses on renewable energy casework for small groups of inspectors in 2007 and again in November 2009. These courses were organised in conjunction with the Centre for Sustainable Energy and were funded by the Department of Energy and-Climate Change. The training covered the key issues arising in wind farm cases, including noise, landscape and visual impact. The 2009 course also included two presentations from representatives of organisations or groups who were opposed to wind farm development. In addition, a webinar on wind turbines and noise was presented to all inspectors dealing with renewable energy cases in November/December 2010.

House of Lords: Reform

Peter Bone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the timetable is for House of Lords reform.

Mark Harper: A Bill on House of Lords reform will be introduced before the summer recess, as indicated by the Leader of the House of Commons, my right hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire (Sir George Young), in response to the right hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough (Mr Blunkett), on 10 May 2012, Official Report, column 131.

Arms Trade: Vietnam

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what is covered by the Defence Co-operation Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Vietnam negotiated by the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation and signed on 24 November 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: Negotiations on the Anglo-Vietnam Defence Co-operation memorandum of understanding (MOU) were led by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), not UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation. The Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my noble Friend Lord Astor of Hever, signed the document on behalf of the MOD. The MOU is designed to further enhance the bilateral relationship and support the exchange of information in areas such as training and peace support operations.

Disclosure of Information

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spent on the updating of published data in line with the Government’s transparency agenda in each month since September 2011.

Norman Lamb: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) does not collect figures on the cost of updating of published data in line with the Transparency agenda. To do so would incur disproportionate costs.

Manufacturing Industries

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department plans to take in response to the recent reduction in UK manufacturing output.

Mark Prisk: Growth is the Government’s top priority for bringing about a sustained revival in manufacturing output. “The Plan for Growth”, published in March 2011, set out the Government’s strategic aim of achieving strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries. It brings an ambitious and relentless focus to the role Government can play to drive growth; ensuring support and enabling the right conditions for businesses, including those in the manufacturing sector, to thrive and achieve strong, sustainable and balanced growth. This work will continue throughout this Parliament.
	We are pushing ahead with an 11 point Advanced Manufacturing Action plan which was drawn up in consultation with industry and published as part of the Plan for Growth. We are now making good progress in delivering against these actions, and gave a full report on progress at the March 2012 budget.
	Since then, we have announced a number of further key measures supporting the sector including the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative; the Talent Retention Solution; See Inside Manufacturing programme; a package of measures to support energy intensive industries; and a further £1 billion investment in the Regional Growth Fund.
	We are also working through joint industry/government councils and other fora to develop strategies in key sectors, including automotive, aerospace and maritime.

Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the abolition of his Department's R&D scoreboard, how he proposes his Department will obtain information on the level of R&D spend in the UK by (a) public and (b) private sector organisations.

David Willetts: holding answer 14 June 2012
	Information on the level of R&D spend in the UK by public sector organisations will be obtained from the Government R&D (GovERD) survey that goes out annually to all Government Departments and research councils. The data is published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as part of the gross expenditure on R&D (GERD) which also includes R&D expenditure by the higher education sector and businesses. Detailed breakdowns of departmental spend is published on the website of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in SET Statistics.
	Information on the level of R&D spend in the UK by private organisations will be obtained from the:
	Business Enterprise R&D data (BERD) produced by ONS which is based on survey data and published annually;
	Bi-annual UK Innovation Survey, which is based on a sample of firms with 10 or more employees and which includes data about R&D.
	This data is complemented by the EU R&D scoreboard.

Science: Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress he has made on implementing the Government's Strategy for Life Sciences published in November 2011; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: holding answer 14 June 2012
	The Government are committed to early delivery of the Strategy for UK Life Sciences. We have appointed two independent life sciences champions, Sir John Bell and Chris Brinsmead, to oversee and drive implementation forward.
	Early achievements on implementing the various commitments in the strategy include:
	The launch of the Biomedical Catalyst jointly administered by the Technology Strategy Board and Medical Research Council. This three-year £180 million programme opened for applications in April 2012 to UK businesses (SMEs) and academics looking to develop innovative solutions to health care challenges either individually or in collaboration. It will support the maturation of an idea from concept to commercialisation.
	The Clinical Practice Research Datalink was established on 29 March 2012. This provides researchers with access to patient data for clinical trials recruitment and observational studies.
	Clinical Trials Gateway website and mobile applications for iphone, ipad and android devices have been launched. The website will provide patients and the public with information about clinical trials in the UK, with the anticipation that this will lead to patients feeling empowered to participate in clinical research.
	At Budget 2012 the Government confirmed the launch of the Patent Box from April 2013. This will be phased in over five years from 2013 to give a reduced 10% rate of corporation tax on profits from patents and certain other similar types of Intellectual Property.
	The UK Strategy for Regenerative Medicine was published on 28 March 2012. The Regenerative Medicine funding scheme, known as the UK Regenerative Medicine Platform, is open for calls to fund research hubs.
	Progress is being made on the establishment of a Cell Therapy Catapult in London by the Technology Strategy Board through the appointment of Keith Thompson as chief executive officer for the Cell Therapy Catapult on 1 May.
	The Sector Skills Council, Cogent, has developed an action plan to attract the best talent into the life sciences workforce. Progress includes:
	Nine higher level apprenticeships incorporating a Foundation Degree in Applied Bioscience Technology commenced in February 2012. The apprenticeships form a pilot programme and provide an alternative pathway for entry into the industry at technician level. Our ambition is to deliver 420 apprenticeships over the next five years.
	The Technical Apprenticeship Service (TAS) which acts as a one-stop shop for life sciences employers to access the apprenticeship programme has been up and running since January 2012.
	The Society of Biology launched their undergraduate degree accreditation programme on 20 March 2012 following successful completion of a 2011-12 pilot programme.
	The Strategy for UK life Sciences has been developed for the long-term to ensure the UK retains its position as a global leader in this field, and that the industry continues to deliver sustainable year-on-year growth. The impact of the strategy may take 10 to 15 years to be fully realised.

Students: Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what market research and testing his Department conducted in determining the name of 24+ Advanced Learning Loans; and what definition of the word advanced was most common amongst student respondents.

John Hayes: holding answer 14 June 2012
	We tested a range of names with over 100 colleges and training organisations, through a Skills Funding Agency survey, and learners through the Online Learning Panel. Feedback from this testing showed that the name should be clear, and should specify the age group and level of provision loans will be available for.
	24+ Advanced Learning Loans will be available for learners aged 24 and above studying at Level 3 and above, from the 2013/14 academic year.

Housing Benefit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will estimate the number of people who will have their housing benefit capped who will move from employment to unemployment as a result of the cap;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the housing benefit cap on transient population movement to seaside towns.

Steve Webb: The Department has commissioned a consortium of academics and research organisations led by Ian Cole, professor of housing studies at Sheffield Hallam university to undertake an independent review of the impact of changes to the local housing allowance system of housing benefit.
	Elements of the research are impacts on employment and a spatial analysis of the effects of the changes that will examine movement from one local authority to another.
	The Department published a report of early findings on 14 June and a copy of the report has been lodged in the House Library.
	The report found that in high rent markets such as London one third of claimants-respondents looked for a job and a similar proportion say they will look for a job to meet a shortfall in their rent. Nationally the respective averages are slightly lower (27% and 32%).
	The Department of Communities and Local Government, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government are working in close partnership with the DWP and contributing to the costs of the review.

Housing Benefit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with local authority leaders whose authorities include the principal seaside towns on the potential effects of benefit caps on seaside towns.

Chris Grayling: Engagement between the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and local authorities (LAs) is paramount to ensure the support needs for all potentially impacted claimants are met. On 21 March 2012, Robert Devereux, DWP Permanent Secretary, and Sir Bob Kerslake wrote jointly to all LA chief executives regarding planning for Welfare Reform, including the introduction of the benefit cap.
	At a strategic level, Local Government Association (LGA) and DCLG are working alongside DWP and other Government Departments to prepare for the introduction of the benefit cap.
	The impact of the benefit cap will vary across the country both in terms of the job/training opportunities available and the housing support that may be required and as such the approach to implementing support mechanisms will be tailored to the specific geographic area.
	Locally, DWP district managers are leading engagement with LAs to support those potentially impacted. DWP officials responsible for design and implementation of the benefit cap will be seeking assurance that, DWP and LA operational staff are working together to identify and manage issues relevant to the local area, this will include those issues that may be specific to seaside towns.

Housing Benefit

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of (a) the number of families in Poplar and Limehouse constituency who will be affected by the benefit cap to be introduced on 1 April 2013, (b) the number of children so affected and (c) the average level of reduction in benefit rate for those families.

Chris Grayling: The information is not available at parliamentary constituency level.
	On 23 January 2012 the Department published an updated Impact Assessment for the household benefit cap, which estimated that in Great Britain 67,000 households would be affected by the cap, in the first year of its implementation (the financial year 2013-14).
	Following the concessions made in the House of Commons on 1 February, we estimate that the introduction of an exemption for those in receipt of the support component of employment support allowance and a grace period of 39 weeks for claimants who have been in employment for 52 weeks or more before leaving work will reduce the number of households affected by the cap to around 57,000.
	This assumes that the situation of these households will go unchanged, and they will not take any steps to either work enough hours to qualify for working tax credit, renegotiate their rent in situ, or find alternative accommodation. In all cases the Department is working to support households through this transition, using existing provision through Jobcentre Plus and the Work Programme to move as many into work as possible.

Occupational Pensions

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria the Workplace Pension Reform Evaluation Strategy will use to measure the effects of automatic enrolment.

Steve Webb: The Department for Work and Pensions published its plans for evaluating the workplace pension reforms on 4 July 2011, available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2011-2012/rrep764.pdf
	The evaluation strategy is structured around eight key evaluation questions which will assess the effects of the reforms against the intermediate policy objective of getting more people to save for their retirement and the long-term objective to increase pensioner incomes, reduce pensioner poverty and improve living standards for pensioners. The evaluation questions were developed by a cross Government steering group. Views on the scope and the more technical methodologies for measuring the effects of automatic enrolment were also sought from a range of stakeholders including organisations representing employers and individuals, pension providers, academics and research organisations.
	The workplace pension reforms baseline evaluation report will be published in July 2012 at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrs-index.asp
	The report aims to describe the landscape before the implementation of the reforms in the context of the evaluation questions. This will be the first in a series of annual publications.

Occupational Pensions

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to minimise the industry-specific administrative obligations of auto-enrolment for (a) agency workers and (b) agencies who frequently change position.

Steve Webb: Automatic enrolment into a workplace pension scheme is designed to tackle the problem of increased longevity coupled with widespread under saving for retirement. It extends the opportunity to save for retirement to moderate to low earners, those individuals who would not usually have access to an employer's pension, and those who work in employment sectors that have tended not to provide pension schemes. This includes people who use temporary work as a stop gap between permanent employment, a stepping stone into permanent employment and those who choose Agency work as a preferred working pattern.
	In the case of employment agencies, the automatic enrolment duty rests with the Agency. The Agency—rather than the client company(ies) with whom the person is placed—will automatically enrol a temporary worker and calculate contributions on wages payable. The duty continues while the person is employed by that Agency, irrespective of a change of client(s) to whom the person is assigned, unless the person opts out.
	Following the recommendations of the independent ‘Making Automatic Enrolment Work’ Review commissioned by the coalition Government, we have taken significant steps to minimise the administrative burdens of the workplace pension reforms for all employers. These include introducing an automatic enrolment earnings trigger set above the point from which contributions are calculated to reduce the problem of penny packet contributions. For this tax year we have aligned the automatic enrolment rates with existing payroll thresholds to simplify the administrative burden. And we have provided for an optional waiting period which allows an employer to defer a worker's automatic enrolment date by up to three months. This is intended, in particular, to benefit those employers, including agencies, who employ temporary workers.

Poverty

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of (a) children, (b) pensioners and (c) households were living in poverty in (i) York, (ii) Yorkshire and the Humber, (iii) England and (iv) the UK in each year since 1992.

Steve Webb: Data for York is unavailable due to insufficient sample size, data on a consistent basis is unavailable for GB, England and Yorkshire and Humberside before 1994-95 and not available for the UK before 1998-99.
	Tables 1 to 3 as follows show the numbers and proportion of children, pensioners and households falling below 60% of contemporary median equivalised income both Before and After Housing Costs.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number and proportion of children living in households below 60% of median equivalised household income, Before and After Housing Costs, 1994-95 to 2010-11 
			 Before Housing Costs 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber England United Kingdom 
			  Number Proportion Number Proportion Number Proportion 
			 1994-95 to 1996-97 0.3 31 2.7 25 — — 
			 1995-96 to 1997-98 0.3 30 2.7 25 — — 
			 1996-97 to 1998-99 0.4 32 2.9 26 — — 
			 1997-98 to 1999-2000 0.4 32 2.8 26 — — 
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 0.3 30 2.7 24 3.3 25 
			 1999-2000 to 2001-02 0.3 29 2.6 23 3.2 24 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 0.3 27 2.4 22 3.0 23 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 0.3 26 2.4 22 2.9 23 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 0.3 25 2.3 22 2.9 22 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 0.3 25 2.3 22 2.8 22 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 0.3 25 2.3 22 2.8 22 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 0.3 26 2.4 22 2.9 22 
			 2006-07 to 2008-09 0.3 26 2.4 22 2.8 22 
			 2007-08 to 2009-10 0.3 26 2.3 21 2.7 21 
			 2008-09 to 2010-11 0.3 25 2.1 19 2.5 20 
		
	
	
		
			 After Housing Costs 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber England United Kingdom 
			  Number Proportion Number Proportion Number Proportion 
			 1994-95 to 1996-97 0.4 35 3.6 33 — — 
			 1995-96 to 1997-98 0.4 35 3.6 33 — — 
			 1996-97 to 1998-99 0.4 36 3.7 34 — — 
			 1997-98 to 1999-2000 0.4 36 3.7 33 — — 
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 0.4 35 3.6 33 4.3 33 
			 1999-2000 to 2001-02 0.4 33 3.4 31 4.1 31 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 0.4 32 3.3 30 4.0 30 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 0.4 32 3.2 30 3.9 30 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 0.3 31 3.2 29 3.7 29 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 0.3 30 3.2 29 3.7 29 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 0.3 29 3.2 30 3.8 30 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 0.3 30 3.4 31 3.9 30 
			 2006-07 to 2008-09 0.3 31 3.4 31 3.9 31 
			 2007-08 t 2009-10 0.4 32 3.3 31 3.9 30 
			 2008-09 to 2010-11 0.3 32 3.2 29 3.7 29 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number and proportion of pensioners living in households below 60% of median equivalised household income, Before and After Housing Costs, 1994-95 to 2010-11 
			 Before Housing Costs 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber England United Kingdom 
			  Number Proportion Number Proportion Number Proportion 
			 1994-95 to 1996-97 0.2 28 2.0 24 — — 
			 1995-96 to 1997-98 0.2 28 2.1 24 — — 
			 1996-97 to 1998-99 0.3 30 2.2 25 — — 
		
	
	
		
			 1997-98 to 1999-2000 0.3 30 2.2 26 — — 
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 0.3 29 2.2 25 2.6 26 
			 1999-2000 to 2001-02 0.2 28 2.2 25 2.6 25 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 0.2 27 2.2 25 2.6 25 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 0.2 25 2.1 24 2.5 24 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 0.2 24 2.0 23 2.4 23 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 0.2 22 1.9 21 2.3 22 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 0.2 24 1.9 22 2.3 22 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 0.2 25 2.0 22 2.4 22 
			 2006-07 to 2008-09 0.2 25 2.0 22 2.4 22 
			 2007-08 to 2009-10 0.2 23 1.9 20 2.3 20 
			 2008-09 to 2010-11 0.2 21 1.8 18 2.1 19 
		
	
	
		
			 After Housing Costs 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber England United Kingdom 
			  Number Proportion Number Proportion Number Proportion 
			 1994-95 to 1996-97 0.3 30 2.4 28 — — 
			 1995-96 to 1997-98 0.3 31 2.4 29 — — 
			 1996-97 to 1998-99 0.3 32 2.5 29 — — 
			 1997-98 to 1999-2000 0.3 32 2.5 29 — — 
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 0.3 31 2.4 28 2.8 27 
			 1999-2000 to 2001-02 0.3 29 2.3 27 2.7 26 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 0.2 26 2.2 26 2.6 25 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 0.2 24 2.1 24 2.5 23 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 0.2 20 1.8 21 2.2 21 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 0.2 17 1.6 18 2.0 18 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 0.2 17 1.6 18 1.9 18 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 0.2 18 1.7 18 2.0 18 
			 2006-07 to 2008-09 0.2 19 1.7 18 2.0 18 
			 2007-08 to 2009-10 0.2 18 1.6 17 1.9 16 
			 2008-09 to 2010-11 0.2 17 1.5 15 1.7 15 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Number and proportion of households living in households below 60% of median equivalised household income, Before and After Housing Costs, 1994-95 to 2010-11 
			 Before Housing Costs 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber England United Kingdom 
			  Number Proportion Number Proportion Number Proportion 
			 1994-95 to 1996-97 0.5 23 3.8 19 — — 
			 1995-96 to 1997-98 0.5 23 3.9 19 — — 
			 1996-97 to 1998-99 0.5 25 4.1 20 — — 
			 1997-98 to 1999-2000 0.5 24 4.1 20 — — 
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 0.5 24 4.1 20 4.9 20 
			 1999-2000 to 2001-02 0.5 23 4.1 20 4.8 20 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 0.5 22 4.0 19 4.8 20 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 0.5 21 4.0 19 4.8 20 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 0.4 20 3.9 19 4.8 19 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 0.4 20 3.9 18 4.7 19 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 0.4 20 3.9 18 4.8 19 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 0.4 20 4.0 19 4.9 19 
			 2006-07 to 2008-09 0.5 21 4.1 19 5.0 19 
			 2007-08 to 2009-10 0.5 21 4.1 18 4.9 19 
			 2008-09 to 2010-11 0.5 20 4.0 18 4.8 18 
		
	
	
		
			 After Housing Costs 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber England United Kingdom 
			  Number Proportion Number Proportion Number Proportion 
			 1994-95 to 1996-97 0.6 27 5.2 26 — — 
			 1995-96 to 1997-98 0.6 27 5.2 26 — — 
			 1996-97 to 1998-99 0.6 28 5.3 26 — — 
			 1997-98 to 1999-2000 0.6 28 5.2 26 — — 
		
	
	
		
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 0.6 27 5.2 25 6.1 25 
			 1999-2000 to 2001-02 0.5 26 5.0 24 5.9 24 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 0.5 25 4.9 24 5.8 24 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 0.5 24 4.8 23 5.7 23 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 0.5 22 4.6 22 5.5 22 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 0.4 21 4.5 21 5.4 21 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 0.4 20 4.6 21 5.4 21 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 0.5 21 4.7 22 5.6 22 
			 2006-07 to 2008-09 0.5 22 4.8 22 5.8 22 
			 2007-08 to 2009-10 0.5 23 4.9 22 5.8 22 
			 2008-09 to 2010-11 0.5 23 4.9 22 5.8 22

Bank Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to make savers aware of ways to achieve better rates of interest from banks.

Mark Hoban: The Government has taken steps to improve transparency for consumers in the savings market. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has introduced improved transparency standards for the way banks keep their customers informed about changes in interest rates on instant-access savings accounts. Banks must now tell their customers about any changes to interest rates on their current and instant-access savings accounts. They also have to give customers two months' notice before reducing an interest rate, unless it is to the customer's advantage, or it tracks a reference rate (for example the Bank of England Rate).
	Since May 2010, banks should also notify customers of other types of savings accounts, such as notice accounts and cash ISAs, of the expiry of an introductory, promotional or preferential rate of interest or a 'material change' to the rate of interest that will be to the disadvantage of the consumer. The notification should refer to any comparable accounts offered by the bank and indicate, if eligible, that the banking customer may move to an account offered by another bank (BCOBS 4.1.2).
	In addition, the Government has set up the Money Advice Service to help consumers identify their individual financial needs, to make sure that those who can afford to save are equipped to navigate the financial services market with confidence. The Money Advice Service publishes comparative tables of savings accounts and the interest rates offered. These tables can be found at:
	www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk
	Budget 2012 committed the Money Advice Service to develop and introduce web-based resources to show consumers when ISA bonus rates are ending.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of not proceeding with the planned three pence fuel duty increase;
	(2)  whether his Department has assessed the likely effect of reducing fuel duty on the level of revenue accruing to the Exchequer; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  whether his Department has assessed the likely effect of reducing fuel duty on the level of employment in the UK; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what assessment his Department has made of the likely effect of the forthcoming three pence fuel duty increase on the number of (a) jobs in the UK, (b) people who stop using their vehicle entirely and (c) people who reduce use of their vehicle.

Chloe Smith: Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) certified forecasts of the fiscal impacts of government policy decisions are presented at Budget and autumn statement. The OBR reported in September 2010 that changing fuel duty by one pence a litre has an effect on the public finances of around £500 million.
	The Chancellor routinely considers the fiscal implications of tax policy options as part of the annual Budget process.
	The effects of fuel prices, which includes oil prices, refinery margins and tax, on inflation, the economy and employment are assessed by the OBR as part of its economic and fiscal forecasts:
	http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk
	Data on driving by households is monitored as part of the National Travel Survey led by the Department for Transport.

Tax Allowances: Charitable Donations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was claimed in tax relief for charitable giving by (a) the corporate sector and (b) private individuals in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) HMRC does not have data on the amount of relief for charitable giving claimed by the corporate sector.
	(b) Data on the costs of reliefs for individuals, where it is possible to make an accurate estimate of these costs, is published at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/charities/table10-2.pdf

Agriculture: Floods

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the effect of recent floods on (a) farmers, (b) crops and (c) ecosystems.

Richard Benyon: It is too soon for any reasonable and systematic assessment of impacts on farmers, crops and ecosystems to be made. The Environment Agency's priorities are to people's lives and property and that is what it is continuing to manage.

Animal Feed: Antibiotics

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on legislation at EU level on the prevention of use of antibiotics in animal food.

James Paice: The Government recognises that all veterinary medicines, including antibiotics are essential to ensure the health of food-producing animals, but believes that their use should not replace good farm management and animal husbandry systems.
	The Government will seek to ensure that these principles are reflected in the EU legislative framework in the forthcoming reviews of European legislation on animal health and welfare and veterinary medicines.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much she expects her Department to spend on the forthcoming judicial review of the badger cull.

James Paice: It is not possible at this stage to predict what the final costs of the Judicial Review will be.

Carbon Emissions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what plans her Department has to introduce mandatory carbon emissions reporting;
	(2)  on what evidential basis her Department plans to make decisions on the introduction of mandatory carbon emissions reporting;
	(3)  for what reason the Government did not introduce mandatory carbon emissions reporting by April 2012 under the terms of the Climate Change Act 2008.

Richard Benyon: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), is considering extensive evidence that has been gathered over the last few years, which includes results from the public consultation run last summer and a detailed impact assessment, all of which will inform the final decision.
	A report was laid in Parliament on 27 March which outlines why no regulations have been introduced; it states that additional time is required to consider all the evidence and to fully analyse the costs and benefits.

Coastal Areas

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  with reference to Adapting to Coastal Change: Developing a Policy Framework, what plans she has to finalise a national coastal change policy;
	(2)  when she expects to finalise her national coastal change policy.

Richard Benyon: 'Adapting to Coastal Change: Developing a Policy Framework' provides a first step in the evolution of a policy framework on adapting to coastal change. The ongoing work of the coastal change adaptation pathfinders will help shape the timetable for future development of coastal change policy.
	The Government has existing policies, guidance and information in place that forms the basis for our response to national coastal change. These include the Environment Agency's National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England; Partnership funding for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management; the National Planning Policy Framework; a Coastal Erosion Assistance Grant; Shoreline Management Plans and National Coastal risk mapping data, which is available to the public.

Common Agricultural Policy

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what priority she places on simplification of policy in her negotiations on reform of the common agricultural policy; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), and I see the need to simplify the common agricultural policy as a high priority. The UK wants a simplified system for farmers and for administrations with any new requirements justified by the public benefits they deliver. The Commission’s current proposals such as those on capping, active farmers, greening pillar 1 and new audit requirements are likely to add substantially to the administrative burden for farmers and administrators alike, without an appropriate corresponding increase in public benefits. We are therefore working hard to influence the Commission, European Parliament and other member states to achieve an outcome more in line with UK views.

Common Agricultural Policy

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress she has made on discussions with the European Commission on reform of the common agricultural policy; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), and I have had numerous meetings with the Commission, including most recently discussions with Commissioner Ciolos at the NFU conference in February, the NFUS Greening conference in April, and earlier this month at the Agricultural Informal in Denmark; we will be seeing him again in July at the Royal Welsh show. We are constantly seeking to influence and work with the Commission to promote UK priorities and seek positive amendments to their proposals.
	This engagement has started to show results and the Commission is finally starting to acknowledge member states dissatisfaction and propose adjustments. For example, the Commission has recently introduced some additional flexibility to its Greening proposals, but they do not go far enough.
	We will continue to work with like-minded member states to seek to increase the resilience, market orientation and international competitiveness of EU agriculture, to improve CAP's capacity to deliver environmental outcomes and to simplify CAP for farmers and authorities, within the constraints of a substantially reduced CAP budget.

Floods: Business

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has had any meetings with people or businesses affected by recent flooding.

Richard Benyon: On 13 June 2012, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), visited Sussex where she saw firsthand the impact of the flooding and the recovery operation taking place in areas such as Littlehampton and Felpham. This visit also provided the opportunity for her to meet and thank the front line emergency services who have done such a fantastic job dealing with the flooding events over the last few days.

Floods: Insurance

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether she has met representatives of the insurance industry to discuss options to replace the Statement of Principles agreement on flood insurance;
	(2)  what options her Department is considering to replace the Statement of Principles between the Government and insurers on flood insurance when it expires in 2013.

Richard Benyon: The availability and affordability of insurance in flood risk areas is an important issue for this Government. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), has met with a range of representatives from the insurance industry, including the Association of British Insurers, and we are at an advanced stage in intensive negotiations with the industry on alternative arrangements for when the Statement of Principles expires.
	The Government will continue to invest to reduce the risk of flooding especially to those households at the highest flood risk and living in the most deprived communities. DEFRA expects to spend more than £2.17 billion on flooding and coastal erosion over this spending period. As a result of the investment we are making, we expect to deliver better protection to 145,000 households by March 2015.

Litter: Publicity

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which organisations have joined the Love where you Live campaign since October 2011.

Richard Benyon: The ‘Love Where You Live’ campaign is run by the independent charity Keep Britain Tidy with the backing of the Government. There are about 500 organisations, including schools, local authorities, community groups and businesses such as Waitrose, the Co-Op and Addison Lee that have registered support for it since October 2011. These organisations have joined the five founder members and existing supporters in using the ‘Love Where You Live’ brand to underpin their own clean-up initiatives.

Palm Oil: Imports

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the volume of unsustainable palm oil imported in each of the last five years.

Richard Benyon: Our most recent data, from 2009, comes from the evidence study “Mapping and understanding the UK palm oil supply chain and analysis of policy options” (reference EV 0459), which was published by DEFRA on 6 May 2011. This estimated that in 2009 UK imports comprised 595,300 metric tons of palm oil, 663,300 metric tons palm kernel meal, 48,100 metric tons of palm kernel oil and at least 350,000 metric tons of palm oil in finished products. Over the period 2005-09, the quantities of palm products imported declined, with 2009 imports around 60% of what they were in 2005.
	The study indicated that uptake of certified sustainable palm oil was increasing. In 2009 about 24% of the UK imports of palm fats and oils were covered by sustainability certification (including approximately 55,000 metric tons of segregated oil, certified under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil scheme; and around 100,000 metric tons via certificates purchased by UK companies under the GreenPalm certificate trading scheme). Thus, in 2009, about 76% of UK palm imports were not covered by sustainability certification.
	We have recently sought tenders for work which will include the annual updating of the estimates of UK sustainable palm oil consumption.

Civil Servants: North West

Helen Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many full-time Civil Service posts there were in (a) Warrington, (b) Cheshire, (c) Merseyside and (d) Greater Manchester (i) on the most recent date for which figures are available, (ii) in 2010, (iii) in 1997 and (iv) in 1992.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated June 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many full-time, equivalent civil service posts there were in (a) Warrington, (b) Cheshire, (c) Merseyside and (d) Greater Manchester in (i) at the latest date for which figures are available, (ii) in 2010, (iii) in 1997 and (iv) in 1992 (112551).
	The Annual Civil Service Employment Survey has been carried out by ONS since 2006. Prior to this the survey was called the Mandate Collection and was carried out by Cabinet Office. Therefore the data provided is for the latest year available, 2011, and 2010. Cabinet Office holds data for previous years.
	The data is provided for Warrington, Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester.
	The survey reference points for the data are 31 March for both 2010 and 2011.
	The data for Warrington, Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester are shown at Annex A.
	Annex A
	
		
			 Civil service employment in Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Warrington (1,2) 
			 All full-time employees 
			  2010 (2) 2011 (2) 
			 Cheshire 3,530 3,190 
			 Merseyside 15,070 13,980 
			 Greater Manchester 14,150 13,130 
			 Warrington 1,770 1,620 
			 (1) Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10, and numbers less than five are represented by“..”. (2) Workplace postcode data are used to derive geographical information. Note: Survey reference date 31 March. Source: Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (2010-11)

Civil Servants: Recruitment

Tom Brake: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will consider introducing a system in the civil service analogous to the Business Compact and name blank CVs.

Francis Maude: Government Departments operate their own recruitment and processes differ across Departments. Civil Service Resourcing was established in 2011 as an HR expert service to provide systems and services for use across the civil service.
	Civil Service Resourcing has introduced an e-recruitment system that has the functionality to allow Departments to adopt a "blind" approach to the first stage sift. This means that all protected characteristics can be removed from defined fields within an application form.
	Some Departments have already adopted the system and this approach. Other Departments are likely to review their approach over time as they consider uptake of the e-recruitment system.

Employment: Newton Abbot

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what percentage of people in Newton Abbot constituency were employed in the (a) public sector, (b) private sector and (c) third sector in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated May 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what percentage of people in Newton Abbot constituency were employed in the (a) public sector, (b) private sector and (c) third sector in each of the last five years. (110015)
	Public and private sector employment statistics for local areas can be calculated from the Annual Population Survey (APS). Individuals in the APS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the survey.
	Estimates of people employed in the third sector are currently not available from APS. Individuals employed in voluntary organisations, charities and trusts are generally included in private sector estimates.
	Table 1 shows the percentage of the resident population aged 16 to 64 of Newton Abbot constituency employed in the public and private sectors from APS for the period October 2010 to September 2011, which is the most recent data available and October to September for the previous four years.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Percentage of the resident population aged 16 to 64 of Newton Abbot constituency employed in the private and public sector 
			 Percentage 
			 12 months ending September: Private Public 
			 2007 59 20 
			 2008 56 24 
			 2009 51 26 
			 2010 46 23 
			 2011 59 12 
			 Source: Annual Population Survey.

Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what steps he has taken to ensure that small companies can participate in the (a) first and (b) second round of G Cloud procurement;
	(2)  what proportion of companies which (a) participated in and (b) were successful in the first round of G Cloud procurement were small and medium-sized enterprises.

Francis Maude: holding answer 14 June 2012
	The first round of the G-Cloud procurement received over 600 expressions of interest. The Government procurement service subsequently awarded framework agreements to around 250 suppliers, 74% of whom have identified themselves as SMEs.
	The frameworks were the most SME-friendly in UK Government history. A number of aspects made them more accessible including simplified procurement processes, increased transparency, less detailed requirements specification, easier terms and education sessions to aid suppliers with the tender and accreditation process.

Public Sector

Peter Bone: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress he has made in improving efficiency in the public sector.

Francis Maude: In its first year of operation, the Efficiency and Reform Group helped Departments to deliver £3.75 billion in efficiency savings for the taxpayer across central Government. This cash was released through coordinated action such as making large reductions in the amounts spent on consultants, renegotiating contracts with some of Government's largest suppliers, and consolidating the Whitehall property estate. For the first time, these savings were corroborated by both the National Audit Office and by independent auditors.
	We are building on this success and are now auditing savings for 2011-12 which are expected to be a further £5 billion. These savings have not only driven out waste, but made an important contribution to reducing the deficit and protecting front-line services.
	We now have in place an effective operations centre at the heart of government that can drive efficiencies and deliver long term, sustainable reform. Innovations such as new delivery models like mutual joint ventures and digital services are not only more efficient, but will deliver better results for the users. The Efficiency and Reform Group will continue working to root out waste, deliver efficiency and generate savings for the taxpayer, year after year.

Adam Pickles

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support and assistance his Department is offering the family of Adam Pickles.

Jeremy Browne: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office was first notified of Mr Pickles case on 21 May 2012. Consular staff from our consulate in Pattaya visited Mr Pickles in hospital on 22 May and met his family. Mr Pickles' family have subsequently met the staff at our consulate in Pattaya and at our embassy in Bangkok, and have also been in contact by telephone.
	Our consul in Bangkok has written to the Thai authorities to seek assurance that the circumstances that led to Mr Pickles' hospitalisation are fully investigated. The local police have kept our staff informed of the progress of their investigation and this information has been shared with Mr Pickles' family.
	We continue to monitor the case closely and provide advice and support to Mr Pickles' family as appropriate.

Commonwealth: Diamond Jubilee 2012

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what programmes his Department has put in place to promote Diamond Jubilee celebrations in Commonwealth countries.

Henry Bellingham: It is for Commonwealth realms and countries to decide how they wish to celebrate Her Majesty's diamond jubilee and 60 years as head of the Commonwealth. However UK diplomatic posts promoted diamond jubilee celebrations in their host countries during diamond jubilee week in a variety of ways. Many examples of those events can be seen on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) diamond jubilee pinterest website:
	http://pinterest.com/foreignoffice/diamond-jubilee/
	Our high commissions, embassies and overseas territories joined the series of lighting jubilee beacons around the world to celebrate this occasion.
	Lord Howell hosted a diamond jubilee dinner in March during Commonwealth week for London based high commissioners.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is also supporting the work of Sir John Major and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust (QEDJT) to ensure the QEDJT is a lasting legacy for the Commonwealth. The Trust will identify projects that will enrich the lives and opportunities for citizens across the Commonwealth.
	A number of Commonwealth countries have already had visits by members of the Royal Family this year to celebrate the jubilee. These will continue during the diamond jubilee year.

Israel

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli authorities on Mahmoud Sarsak; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We continue to monitor the situation of the three Palestinian detainees still on hunger strike, including that of Mahmoud Sarsak, who is detained under Israel's unlawful combatants law. We understand that his medical condition has deteriorated and that he has started to take some liquids. We are also aware of reports that there are ongoing negotiations around his case.
	We have instructed our embassy in Tel Aviv to make clear our concerns to the Israeli authorities on this and related cases. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) and I have also regularly raised with the Israeli authorities the issues of conditions in Israeli prisons, administrative detention and the situation of hunger strikers in general.

Israel

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he would consider taking against Israel if it continues with its policy of detentions without charge or trial; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We remain concerned about Israel's extensive use of administrative detention and the treatment of Palestinian prisoners, and continue to call on the Israeli authorities to comply with their obligations under international law.
	I raised our concerns most recently with the Israeli ambassador to London on 8 May 2012 and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) did likewise with the new Israeli Vice Prime Minister on 11 May. The British ambassador in Tel Aviv also discussed this issue with the Israeli Foreign Minister on 10 May. We are also in close contact with the International Committee of the Red Cross and with Palestinian human rights organisations as well as with the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinians

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to secure the release of Palestinian footballer Mahmoud Sarsak; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We continue to monitor the situation of the three Palestinian detainees still on hunger strike, including that of Mahmoud Sarsak, who is detained under Israel's unlawful combatants law. We understand that his medical condition has deteriorated and that he has started to take some liquids. We are also aware of reports that there are ongoing negotiations around his case.
	We have instructed our embassy in Tel Aviv to make clear our concerns to the Israeli authorities on this and related cases. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) and I have also regularly raised with the Israeli authorities the issues of conditions in Israeli prisons, administrative detention and the situation of hunger strikers in general.

Western Sahara

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received any reports of the boarding of a Swedish operated vessel, Meya, in Dakhla, Western Sahara, on 23 April 2012 by Saharawi fishermen protesting about economic marginalisation; and whether he has any plans to raise the issue with the Moroccan or Swedish ambassadors.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has not received any reports regarding this incident and has no plans to raise the issue with the Moroccan or Swedish ambassador. However, we discuss issues surrounding the natural resources of Western Sahara with Morocco on a regular basis.
	The UK abstained on the European Council vote to extend the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement in February 2012. We will continue to encourage Morocco to demonstrate that all economic activity off the coastline of Western Sahara is conducted to the benefit and according to the wishes of the population of Western Sahara.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long on average people waited in accident and emergency at York Hospital before being treated in (a) 1992 and (b) each year since 1992.

Simon Burns: Information is not available in the format requested.
	Information on accident and emergency (A&E) performance for York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (FT) for 2002-03 onwards is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Total time spent in Type 1 A&E 
			  1 hour or less 1 to 2 hours 2 to 3 hours 3 to 4 hours Over 4 hours Time not recorded Total Percentage within 4 hours 
			 2002-03 14,066 18,452 11,263 7,374 5,570 0 56,725 90.2 
			 2003-04 17,059 20,319 11,640 6,100 5,367 0 60,485 91.1 
			 2004-05 18,707 21,242 12,282 7,527 3,941 0 63,699 93.8 
			 2005-06 18,703 22,960 13,118 8,005 909 0 63,695 98.6 
			 2006-07 20,105 21,257 13,306 9,550 1,679 0 65,897 97.5 
			 2007-08 17,454 21,552 13,278 10,102 2,272 0 64,658 96.5 
			 2008-09 21,433 22,037 13,458 9,141 2,218 0 68,287 96.8 
			 2009-10 21,079 22,153 15,048 11,527 1,686 0 71,493 97.6 
			 2010-11 20,450 21,659 16,295 13,057 2,751 0 74,212 96.3 
			 2011-12 n/a n/a n/a n/a 3,693 n/a 72,914 94.9 
			 n/a—Represents the figures that are not available Notes: 1. It is not possible to calculate an accurate average time that people have waited in A&E at York Teaching Hospital NHS FT before being treated. 2. Data on A&E performance has been collected in the QMAE from 2002-03 onwards and was only collected in hourly time brackets up to four hours and over. 3. This data focuses on the percentage of people treated in A&E within four hours. 4. Comparable A&E data from before 2002-03 is not available. 5. The QMAE collection was suspended in 2011-12. Therefore, the figures for 2011-12 have been taken from the Weekly A&E data collection. 6. The Weekly A&E data collection only collects data on the total number of patients seen and the number of patients that waited over four hours. Source: Quarterly Monitoring of Accident and Emergency Dataset (QMAE) and Weekly A&E data

Cancer

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency admissions for each type of cancer there were in each hospital trust in each of the last two years.

Paul Burstow: Information concerning the number of emergency admissions in England by type of cancer and by hospital trust has been placed in the Library. This data should not be referred to as a count of patients as the same patient may be admitted more than once within a year.

Clinical Trials

Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements are in place to ensure that clinical trials cannot be falsified for commercial purposes.

Simon Burns: Clinical trials are regulated by a European Directive Council Directive 2001/20/EC, which came into force in May 2004. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for the enforcement of this law, which was transposed into UK law under SI 2004/1031 as amended.
	Clinical studies for investigation of new medicinal products are required to comply with European Unions standards for Good Clinical Practice. Companies are required to confirm that studies have been conducted according to EU standards for Good Clinical Practice within marketing authorisation applications. Professional assessors at the MHRA review the clinical study reports during the assessment of applications for marketing authorisations and consider the credibility of the data within that review.
	The MHRA's Licensing Division is responsible for the acceptance of the trials to be conducted and the subsequent review of any such data in Marketing Authorisation Applications. The MHRA's Good Clinical Practice Inspectorate conducts inspections to ensure that the patients' rights, safety and well being are protected and that data is credible. They do this by conducting inspections using a risk based approach.

E. coli

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases resistant E. coli were reported in each of the last five years.

Anne Milton: This information is not available. There is no national surveillance on the number of infections due to extended-spectrum beta-lactamase, (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli).
	The Department is in the process of commissioning research to provide information on the prevalence of the resistance caused by ESBL- producing bacteria.. Details of this call for proposals and the expert group report outlined are available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/02/research-esbl-producing-bacteria/
	The document has been placed in the Library.

Hearing Impairment: Health Services

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the communication needs of (a) people who are hard of hearing and (b) deaf British Sign Language users are met by the National Health Service.

Paul Burstow: In accordance with the Equality Act 2010, all public sector organisations have a general duty to advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic, including a disability such as hearing loss, and those who do not. Advancing equality involves taking steps to meet the heeds of people from protected groups where these are different from the needs of other people—this would include considering the needs of people who are hard of hearing and deaf (including British Sign Language users).
	National health service organisations must assure themselves that they have complied with the Equality Act 2010. To help NHS organisations improve their equality performance and comply with the duties set out in the Equality Act 2010, the NHS Equality and Diversity Council launched the equality delivery system last year. The equality delivery system provides a common framework to support NHS organisations to address all protected characteristics covered by the public sector equality duty and help them deliver better outcomes for patients and better working environments for staff, which are personal, fair and diverse. It can be found at:
	www.eastmidlands.nhs.uk/about-us/inclusion/eds/

Hospitals: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how long on average an NHS outpatient in (a) York, (b) North Yorkshire and York and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber waited from referral by a GP to their first consultation at hospital for (i) all specialties taken together and (ii) each specialty separately in each year since 1992;
	(2)  how long on average an NHS (a) inpatient and (b) day case patient from (i) York, (ii) North Yorkshire and York and (iii) Yorkshire and the Humber waited for treatment in (A) all specialties taken together and (B) each specialty separately in each year since 1992.

Simon Burns: This data can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Medical Records: Databases

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has for future use of electronic health records; and what cost efficiencies he expects to result from this.

Simon Burns: Some electronic health records already exist but the quality of data currently held is variable and the Government's information strategy for health and social care in England commits us to effecting significant and lasting improvements. The strategy, The power of information which was published on 21 May 2012, sets out a vision in which we will all have secure electronic access to our own health and care records. This will include access to letters, test results, personal care plans and needs assessments.
	Electronic access to our own care records, where we request this, will start with GP records by 2015 and our social care records as soon as information technology systems allow.
	In addition, health and care professionals will be able to access relevant records online, simply, securely and all in one place. These professionals will lead better, more standardised and useful recording of information in our records, wherever possible capturing data at the point of care.
	Data from our records will be combined and linked with other data in a secure-environment, then made anonymous. This aggregated data can then be used to audit quality, improve services, guide commissioning, support research and identify trends and patterns of health.
	The strategy has already been placed in the Library and is available at:
	http://informationstrategy.dh.gov.uk/
	The full economic cost of implementing “The Power of Information” has been estimated at £1,275 million over 10 years. Health and efficiency gains over the same period have been estimated at £6,334 million. Therefore, we estimate that over 10 years the net economic benefit to the taxpayer will be £5,059 million.

Mental Health Services

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on mental health services in Worcestershire in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: Information on all expenditure on mental health services in Worcestershire, is not held centrally.
	However, in 2010-11 expenditure on mental health by Worcestershire primary care trust was £106.2 million. The data for 2011-12 is not currently available.

Mental Health Services: Veterans

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what NHS facilities are available for veterans with mental health issues in Worcestershire.

Simon Burns: This Government considers the health and wellbeing of its' armed forces personnel, veterans and their families to be a top priority. My hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison), published his review of mental health services for the armed forces and veterans in October 2010, and funding of £7.2 million was immediately announced to implement his recommendations. As a result, England as a whole now benefits from a number of enhanced services targeted at veterans' mental health and wellbeing. There is the 24-hour helpline run by Rethink, in partnership with Combat Stress; the emotional health support service Big White Wall; and a general practitioner awareness-raising e-learning package run with the Royal College of General Practitioners. In addition, enhanced veterans' mental health support services are now being put in place across the country; by the end of this calendar year they will be up and running across England.
	Turning to Worcestershire more specifically, Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust have an established and effective service and pathway to respond to post traumatic stress disorder. Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust provide a specific post traumatic stress disorder therapy as required. Improving Access to Psychological Therapies service is also in a position to support and refer as appropriate. NHS Worcestershire also continues to work proactively with military colleagues to promote early identification of service personnel who are likely to require follow up by health and social care services. There are also a number of organisations dedicated to meeting the needs of ex-service personnel locally and they provide effective follow up and signposting to this group of people. There is a veterans multi-agency forum that meets annually where updates and good practice are shared.

Mental Illness: Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the World Health Organisation's prediction of a 50% increase in the rate of childhood mental illness between 2005 and 2020; and whether his Department has made a comparative estimate for England.

Paul Burstow: The King's Fund report, “Paying the Price, The cost of Mental Health Care in England to 2026”, published in 2008, which has been placed in the Library, predicted that the number of children with conduct disorders, emotional disorders, hyperkinetic disorder (ADHD) and co-morbid disorders will increase by 13.3%, between 2007 and 2026.
	Nearly 10%, of children aged five to 16 suffer from a clinically recognisable mental disorder. Half of those—with lifetime mental health problems first experience symptoms before the age of 14, and three quarters before their mid-20s. The Government's mental health strategy “No Health Without Mental Health: a cross-Government mental health outcomes strategy for people of all ages” takes a life course approach and emphasises the importance of providing equal access to age-appropriate services.
	Key to reducing the estimated £105 billion annual cost of mental ill-health to the economy is to intervene early to stop problems developing and to prevent illness through public mental health and well-being actions. The Government have taken action in a number of areas including increasing the number of health visitors to improve early intervention, extending improving access to psychological therapies to children and young people, starting work on extending training for people working with youngsters outside of health settings, such as in schools or youth groups, and commissioning a children's health outcomes strategy.

Neurology

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what data will be provided to support clinical commissioning groups in the commissioning and evaluation of neurological services;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take to support improvements in the commissioning of neurological services.

Paul Burstow: A number of tools and resources already exist to support the commissioning and evaluation of neurological services. These include the long-term neurological conditions reference dataset and neurological indicators within national health service comparators, which are available from the Information Centre.
	The neurological charities have also produced a quality neurology audit and evaluation tool, which allows commissioners to receive a comprehensive evaluation of how an organisation fulfils all of the quality requirements specified in the national service framework for long-term neurological conditions.
	Additionally, Neurological Commissioning Support, which was established by the MS Society, Motor Neurone Disease Society and Parkinson's UK, have developed Neuronavigator, a tool to help commissioners to understand the complexity of support and services that need to be provided for people affected by a long-term neurological condition
	A number of developments to the health and care system, provided for by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and wider health reforms, will ensure improved access and more local accountability for services for neurological conditions.
	The NHS Outcomes Framework defines and enables measurement of the key outcomes that matter to patients. All five domains within the framework have relevance to long-term neurological conditions, while domain two, enhancing the quality of life for people with long-term neurological conditions, seeks to capture specific information on how successfully the NHS is supporting people with long-term conditions to live as normal a life as possible
	The NHS Commissioning Board, supported by National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), will develop a Commissioning Outcomes Framework (COF), which will inform national and local priority setting. The draft indicators published earlier this year by NICE for potential inclusion in COF include indicators derived from the NHS Outcomes Framework.
	The NHS Commissioning Board will take on responsibility for certain specialist services. The Department is working with NHS colleagues who currently commission specialised services towards producing a list of services for direct commissioning by the board.
	Additionally, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will have flexibility to decide how best to commission other low-volume services, for example through collaboration and lead commissioner arrangements.
	Health and Wellbeing Boards will have a strong role in direct commissioning and promoting locally integrated provision. The local authority and clinical commissioning groups will be required to undertake a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment through the Health and Wellbeing Board, leading to a Health and Wellbeing Strategy. This will provide an objective analysis of local current and future needs for adults and children spanning the NHS, social care and public health, and potentially wider issues such as housing or education.

NHS: Manpower

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent NHS (a) consultants and (b) junior doctors were employed in each clinical specialty at hospitals in York (i) in cash terms and (ii) at current prices (A) in total and (B) per capita in (1) 1992 and (2) each year since 1992.

Simon Burns: The information is not available in the format requested. Full-time equivalent staff totals for national health service staff employed at York Hospitals NHS Trust and North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust, in each clinical speciality from 1992 and each year since has been placed in the Library.

Nutrition

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on advertising the benefits of good nutrition to (a) adults, (b) children and (c) pregnant women in each of the last five years.

Anne Milton: The Department's External Relations Directorate (formally Communications Directorate) has not run any stand-alone campaigns on the benefits of good nutrition. Information on any other promotional work on nutrition that may be run on behalf of the Department is not held centrally and cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.
	The yearly spend on figures for the Change4Life advertising campaign, which includes nutrition, began in January 2009, and as follows. To split by the required groups would also incur disproportionate costs.
	
		
			 Change4Life advertising (media) spends 
			  £ 
			 2009-10 (1)9,150,000 
			 2010-11 (2)1,610,000 
			 2011-12 (2)2,900,000 
			 (1) Figure is net media plus agency fees and commissions (rounded to nearest £10,000) but excluding production and COI fees and VAT. (2) Provisional figures based on local records (rounded to nearest £10,000). Figures exclude VAT, production and COI fees.

Nutrition

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the potential effects of the consumption of trans fats on structural fats in the central nervous system of foetuses, babies and infants; and whether his Department recommends a tolerable upper intake of trans fats for these groups.

Anne Milton: The Department has not commissioned any research to investigate the potential effects of the consumption of trans fats on structural fats in the central nervous system of foetuses, babies and infants.
	The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) reviewed the evidence of the health effects of trans fats in 2007. This included a review of the evidence of the effect of trans fats on early development. SACN concluded that while there is evidence that trans fats from the maternal diet accumulate, in fetal and infant tissue via placental transport or consumption of breast milk, there is limited and contradictory information as to effects on the health of the child.
	The Department recommends that average trans fat intakes should not exceed 2%, of energy from food.

Sexually Transmitted Infections: Young People

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people under the age of 18 years in each (a) socio-economic, (b) ethnic and (c) gender group were treated for sexually transmitted diseases in each of the last 10 years.

Anne Milton: The data collected by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) on all acute sexually transmitted infections (STIs) by socio-economic deprivation, ethnicity and gender group are only available since 2009. Data are provided on STT diagnoses in those aged 13 to 17 inclusive. The data refer to the number of diagnosed infections as data on treatment are not collected.
	The information is provided in tables 1, 2 and 3 as follows:
	Table 1 contains the number and rates of acute STT diagnoses by deprivation index;
	Table 2 contains the number of acute STI diagnoses by ethnic group. It is not possible to provide rates by ethnic group and age; and
	Table 3 contains acute ST1 diagnoses and rates by gender.
	All tables include data from genito-urinary medicine clinics. Chlamydia diagnoses made in community settings are included in Table 3 only as data by ethnicity and area of residence are not collected in all community settings reporting Chlamydia data.
	Acute STIs include the following diagnoses: Chlamydia (complicated and uncomplicated), Gonorrhoea (complicated and uncomplicated), Syphilis (primary, secondary and early latent), Genital Herpes simplex (first episode), Genital Warts (first episode), Non-specific genital infection/urethritis, Chancroid, Lymphogranuloma venerum (LGV), Donovanosis, Molluscum contagiosum, Trichomoniasis, Scabies, Pediculus pubis.
	
		
			 Table 1: The number and rat e of acute STIs diagnosed in 13 to 17-year- olds by deprivation quintile using the Index of Multiple Deprivation, England: 2009-11 
			  Number of acute STI diagnoses Rates per 100,000 population (aged 13-17 years) 
			 Deprivation quintile 2009 2010 2011 2009 2010 2011 
			 Most deprived 5,825 5,860 5,973 880.7 886.0 903.1 
			 2nd most deprived 4,635 4,210 4,389 767.0 696.6 726.3 
			 3rd most deprived 3,336 3,073 3,099 557.2 513.3 517.6 
			 4th most deprived 2,638 2,554 2,625 428.6 414.9 426.5 
			 Least deprived 2,098 . 1,995 2,116 309.7 294.5 312.4 
			 Notes: 1. Data are sourced from the Genitourinary Medicine Clinic Activity Dataset (GUMCAD) and are collected from all GUM clinics in England. 2. GUMCAD does not collect data on the socio-economic status of individuals. Data on the area of residence of patients attending GUM clinics are collected and these were used to assign each patient to a Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) in England. Deprivation was measured, using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) for each in England. All LSOAs were ranked according to the IMD score and assigned to quintiles (IMD group 1—least deprived; IMD group 5—most deprived). 3. LSOA data were not known for 2,567 cases in 2009, 939 cases in 2010 and 686 cases in 2010 and so are excluded from the table. 4. The data available from the GUMCAD returns are the number of diagnoses made, not the number of patients diagnosed. 5. Rates per 100,000 population aged 13 to 17 years have been calculated using mid-2009 ONS population estimates. Source: Health Protection Agency, GUMCAD returns: Date of data: 12 June 2012 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: The number of acute STIs diagnosed in 13 to 17-year olds by ethnic group, England: 2009-11 
			 Number of acute STI diagnoses 
			 Ethnic group 2009 2010 2011 
			 White 16,295 14,372 14,512 
			 Black or Black British 1,759 1736 1,752 
			 Asian or Asian British 262 232 234 
			 Mixed 1,139 1,036 1,037 
			 Other ethnic groups 195 197 224 
			 Unknown 1,449 1,058 1,129 
			 Total 21,099 18,631 18,888 
			 Notes: 1. Data are sourced from the Genitourinary Medicine Clinic Activity Dataset (GUMCAD). 2. The data available from the GUMCAD returns are the number of diagnoses made, not the number of patients diagnosed. 3. Ethnicity was patient-defined and classified into standardised national health service categories. 4. Rates per 100,000 population have not been calculated as age-specific ONS population estimates by ethnicity are not available. Source: Health Protection Agency, GUMCAD returns: Date of data: 12 June 2012 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: The number and rates of acute STIs diagnosed in 13 to 17-year-olds by gender, England: 2009-11 
			  Number of acute STI diagnoses Rates per 100,000 population 
			 Gender 2009 2010 2011 2009 2010 2011 
			 Male 8,225 8,034 7,394 306.8 272.8 277.8 
			 Female 30,177 28,813 26,393 1,048.7 940.2 951.8 
			 Unknown 13 2 3 — — — 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 38,415 36,849 33,790 668.2 597.6 605.9 
			 Notes: 1. Data are sourced from the Genitourinary Medicine Clinic Activity Dataset (GUMCAD), National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) and non-GUM, non-NCSP returns. 2. The data available are the number of diagnoses made, not the number of patients diagnosed. 3. The NCSP offers opportunistic Chlamydia screening targeting those aged 15 to 24 years attending a variety of non-GUM clinic settings. Some 13 and 14-year-olds may be screened and diagnoses in this age group are also included in the table. 4. Rates per 100,000 population aged 13 to 17 years have been calculated using mid-2009 and mid-2010 ONS population estimates. Source: Health Protection Agency, GUMCAD returns, NCSP returns and non-GUM, non-NCSP returns: Date of data: 12 June 2012

Strokes

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people his Department estimates to have had a stroke (a) nationally and (b) in South Swindon constituency in the last year.

Simon Burns: This information is not collected centrally. However, the following table provides information on the number of finished admission episodes where the primary diagnosis was stroke during 2010-11. It is possible for an individual to have more than one admission to hospital with a stroke within any given year and so the information given in the table is not a count of the number of people who have had a stroke.
	Count of finished admission episodes (FAEs)(1) with a primary diagnosis of 'stroke'(2) for England and where the patient parliamentary constituency of residence(3) is E22—South Swindon—2010-11.
	(1) Finished admission episodes
	A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	(2) ( ) Primary diagnosis
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the hospital episode statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.
	ICD — 10 Codes
	160—Subarachnoid haemorrhage
	161—Intracerebral haemorrhage
	162—Other nontraumatic intracranial haemorrhage
	163—Cerebral infarction
	164—Stroke, not specified as haemorrhage or infarction
	(3) ( ) Parliamentary constituency of residence
	The parliamentary constituency containing the patient's normal home address. This does not necessarily reflect where the patient was treated as they may have travelled to. another area or region for treatment.
	Data quality
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.
	
		
			 Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			 Geographic  a rea Count of FAEs 
			 England 94,700 
			 E22-South Swindon 218 
			 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Strokes

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the average age of people who have had a stroke in each of the last 10 years.

Simon Burns: This information is not collected centrally. However, the following table provides information on the mean age of people admitted to hospital with a primary diagnosis of stroke. Not all records include the patient's age and, where this is the case, the record has not been included in the calculation of the mean age.
	
		
			 Average age of the patient at the start of the episode for finished admission episodes (FAEs) (1)  with a primary diagnosis of 'stroke' (2)  for England 
			 Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  Average age 
			 2001-02 73.2 
			 2002-03 73.2 
			 2003-04 73.2 
			 2004-05 72.9 
			 2005-06 73.2 
			 2006-07 73.1 
			 2007-08 73.1 
			 2008-09 73.2 
			 2009-10 73.2 
			 2010-11 73.2 
			 (1) Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (2) Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. ICD — 10 Codes 160—Subarachnoid haemorrhage 161—Intracerebral haemorrhage 162—Other nontraumatic intracranial haemorrhage 163—Cerebral infarction 164—Stroke, not specified as haemorrhage or infarction Data quality: HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs).in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Coryton Oil Refinery

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the letter from the Minister of State for Energy of 11 June 2012, on Coryton Refinery, whether his Department has had any (a) correspondence, (b) meetings or (c) discussions with the French government in respect of assistance provided to the Petit Couronne Refinery.

Charles Hendry: The British embassy in Paris, on behalf of the Department, has exchanged correspondence with the French government about the assistance provided to the Petit Couronne Refinery.

Nuclear Power

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what invitations to tender he has announced for (a) banks, (b) accountancy firms and (c) consultancies to assist his Department in negotiation of nuclear generation contracts with EDF Energy; and what plans he has to make these negotiations transparent.

Charles Hendry: An invitation to tender for the provision of financial and accountancy advice was issued on 25 May 2012. This tender was conducted through a Government Procurement Service framework ('Multi-Disciplinary Consultancy') that includes a mixture of accountancy firms and consultancies. An invitation to tender to undertake engineering cost verification work was issued on 21 May 2012. This tender was through the Ministry of Defence's Framework Agreement for Technical Support that includes engineering consultancies. No selection has yet been made under these tenders. No invitation to tender has yet been issued to banks.
	There will be full transparency over the terms agreed following the negotiation of nuclear generation contracts.

Nuclear Power: Emergencies

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information he has received from the Chief Nuclear Inspector on progress made in the implementation of strengthening arrangements in nuclear emergency planning identified by the Office for Nuclear Regulation following the review of nuclear emergencies by the Nuclear Emergency Planning Liaison Group in 2011.

Charles Hendry: Following the publication of Dr Mike Weightman's final report; the “Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami: Implications for the UK Nuclear Industry” (October 2011), the Government responded to a number of recommendations, including arrangements for nuclear emergency planning (December 2011). This response is available publicly at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/meeting-energy-demand/nuclear/3718-gov-response-weightman-final.pdf
	In his report Dr Weightman invited Government to report back on the recommendations by June 2012. Government will be providing an update to its December response shortly, ahead of Dr Weightman's 'one year on' progress report, due to be published in autumn 2012. This will include information on the progress made in the implementation of strengthening arrangements in nuclear emergency planning.

Wind Power: Carbon Emissions

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will commission a scientific study to examine the effectiveness of wind turbines in mitigating emissions of carbon dioxide.

Gregory Barker: Several independent scientific studies have already been undertaken in this area. The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology(1) has recently summarised a number of peer reviewed research reports and life cycle assessments which compare the carbon footprint(2) of different UK electricity generating technologies. It reported that onshore wind power has a carbon footprint range of between 8 to 20gCO2eq/kWh with off shore wind around 9 to 13gCO2eg/kWh
	(3)
	. By comparison, the average emissions from fossil fuelled power generation in the UK was around 500gCO2/kWh. Life cycle assessments of CO2 emissions take into account not only emissions from generation of electricity but those incurred during the manufacture, construction and decommissioning phases of the plant and from sourcing of raw materials and feedstocks.
	Where wind power displaces electricity generated from fossil fuelled power generation it is therefore mitigating CO2 and my Department estimates that approximately 9.3 million tonnes of CO2 was displaced by electricity generated from wind in the UK in 2011(4).
	I therefore do not propose to commission any new research into the lifetime carbon emissions of different generating technologies but will keep under review any new literature in this area as the future UK generation mix will be critical in our move to a low carbon future.
	(1 )Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology Note (Postnote) 268 at
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/postpn268.pdf
	which was updated in June 2011 by Postnote 383 at:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn_383-carbon-footprint-electricity-generation.pdf
	(2 )This is the total amount of C02 and other greenhouse gases emitted over the full life cycle of generating plants. This footprint is expressed in terms of grams of C02 equivalent per kilowatt hour of generation (gC02eq/kWh).
	(3 )Carbon emissions relating to the manufacture and installation of wind turbines will depend on a range of factors including size and type of turbine, extraction of any raw materials and processes and energy type used to manufacture turbine components, method of transport of components to the site, and location and typography of the site.
	(4 )This figure was calculated using the total amount of electricity generated by wind projects multiplied by an estimate of the amount of carbon dioxide emissions per GWh of electricity supplied for a combination of fossil fuels (which is based on the known fossil fuel mix for electricity generation in the UK for 2010).

Wind Power: Northamptonshire

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the load factor was of wind turbines in Northamptonshire in the last six months.

Charles Hendry: Load factor information is not available on a county basis. In Q4 2011, the latest period for which this data is available, the load factor for the UK was 37.8%(1).
	Regional data for 2011 will be published in ‘Energy Trends’ in September 2012.
	(1) Data is produced on a quarterly basis and available in Energy Trends, which can be downloaded from:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/publications/trends/trends.aspx